Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Winnebago Earns 'Fully Meets' Classification From Ford

Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO), the nation's top-selling motor home manufacturer, was recently recognized by Ford Motor Company as receiving the "fully meets" classification as part of their Truck Quality Program.

In order to earn the "fully meets" classification, companies must meet all minimum requirements, as well as score a minimum of 85 percent on Other Criteria (OC) items. Winnebago Industries earned 97.4 percent in the program, scoring 93.5 points out of 96.

"Winnebago Industries is proud to earn the fully meets classification from Ford's Truck Quality Program," said Winnebago Industries' Director of Quality Control Chuck Hughes. "Our goal at Winnebago Industries is to manufacture the highest quality motor homes on the market. We have strict quality measures in place to achieve this, which includes working closely with our chassis suppliers, like Ford, to maintain the integrity of the chassis while also building a superior product. We work extremely hard to achieve this rating from Ford, and will continue to strive to meet and exceed customers expectations with the quality found in our motor homes."

The highest honor awarded to vehicle modifiers, the Truck Quality Program is based on an assessment of a modifier's engineering capability, design and build process controls, management commitment and quality control procedures. According to Ford, the purpose of the program is to assure vehicle modifiers have the capability and processes in place to complete the vehicle in a repeatable manner that maintains the integrity of the Ford chassis system, meets Federal and other standards in place at the time of the build, and provides end users with a quality built vehicle that meets their expectations. Winnebago Industries has received Ford's "fully meets" classification since the program's inception in 1997.

In addition, Winnebago Industries recently received its 13th consecutive Quality Circle Award from the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVDA). Quality Circle Award winners are determined by the Dealer Satisfaction Index (DSI) survey, which RVDA conducts annually with its dealer organization. The DSI survey, which determines the Quality Circle Award winners, rates manufacturers' performance in eight core areas: sales support, sales territory, vehicle design, vehicle reliability/quality, competitive price/value, parts support, dealership warranty support and overall dealer communications. Winnebago Industries is the only motor home manufacturer to receive this award since its inception. ---RVTipOfTheDay.comEach day we post a tip on lifestyle, equipment, campgrounds, sights and attractions, safety and just about anything else useful to being an RVer. Want to have the daily tip emailed to you? Look for the subscription form at RVTipOfTheDay.com